Scarfing Day Two and Words of Wisdom

It's Day Two of "The Year of the Scarf". Yesterday I did a video blog about it. (If you are reading this on Facebook, follow my "real" blog at http://stephanieclick.blogspot.com to see the video!)

Here's a pic of Day One


Now, Day Two (notice that it's tied differently ...) Thanks again to my scarf blogging friends for the plethora of ideas on different ways to tie :)


... and here are my words of wisdom today. They come from my husband, who as usual, is
speaking to me about doing more things for myself. (It's on my list of New Years Resolutions, but it's still an everyday struggle.) My reply to Don was, of course, that there is so much to do at work, home, with the kids, and with him, that I'm worn out by the time I have a chance to do anything for myself ... this conversation was taking place via email and this is what he replied ...

"You know how when you're on an airplane and they're going over the safety rules and they get to the air mask part? They say 'place your own mask on before you assist others, including children.' Make sure your air mask is on before you put on ours...."

Those words have stayed with me all day. I think I'm gonna see if Michael (my flight attendant brother-in-law) can get me a mask that I can hang in my closet to remind me of this statement.

Thanks Don! That's why I love you.

The Year of the Scarf

My "friend" Angie Smith and new "friend" Brandi Wilson are the official 2009 Scarf Diva's. I'm so upset that I didn't meet them when I lived in Nashville. We would have been fast friends ... like real life friends, not cyber friends. (And, ok, seriously ... why does it always pick the most awkward moment to do a freeze for the video???)

2009 - A New Year for Me

These are my New Year's Resolutions. Yes, I am fully aware that January is nearly over, but I've really thought about these for a while and these are items that I want to make hold in my life and truly stick with. Hold me accountable.

(1) I want to write hand-written notes to people. I'm the world's worst at writing an email "thank you" or getting busy and forgetting about it when I REALLY did appreciate what you did!

(2) Lose Weight. Yes, I know ... join the bandwagon. But, I only have 25 pounds. It's a gigantic amount to me, but so much less than other people have. I know that if I tackle this now, I won't have a huge problem later down the road.

(3) I have to do better with my daily Bible reading. I'm so excited that I'm joining a Ladies Bible Study in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping that this study will give me a starting point for a real plan to read through the Bible without getting overwhelmed or distracted.

(4) A month or so ago, my mother-in-law sent me a video of a child she knows reciting Bible verses. It struck me that there is no reason that my children should not be doing that. Avery has dealt with a lot of teasing this year. He's extremely sensitive, so it's weighed very heavily on him. He needs these verses to hide in his heart. I found a great site for this and intend to be faithful to this challenge.

(5) I need to make a schedule of when I'm going to do what each week. It sounds crazy, but my life is out-of-control. I work about 45 hours a week, Don works around 60 hours a week, the kids are going different directions, and it goes on and on. I need to do menu planning and a house schedule so that we don't spend the times we are all in the same spot doing laundry or picking up the house.

(6) I WILL make time for me. I tend to look after and do whatever is needed for everyone around me and not take care of myself. I will get my hair cut on a regular schedule, use the "good" body wash!, get a pedicure once in a while, go out with the girls ... take time for myself before I forget who I am. Don always says "you need to relax!" I truthfully don't think I know how.

(7) I have several money-saving articles in my mind. I really feel that I can help people save money. I need to get these articles on paper and pitch them to our local magazines. It would be a great second-income/occasional income for our family and there is no good reason for me not to do it.

(8) Finally, this is kind-of petty ... but I want to watch all the seasons of Sex and the City. I've never seen a single episode or the movie. Anyone who knows me won't believe this since (apparently) the show SCREAMS my name. I got Season 1 from Netflix so I'm ready to get started :)

Carrie Underwood

The girl flat TORE ... IT ... UP at the People's Choice Awards.




I guess this is one of those songs that everyone can relate too, so that's probably why I liked it so much.

I downloaded it first thing this morning. Her voice is amazing, and she seems like a genuine person, too.

I'm happy she's doing so well.

BooMama's Tour of Homes

It's that time again ... and I'm three days later than I intended to be. I'm also not as thorough as I intended to be. This Christmas season started with a bang for me, then hit a lull ... and now, has wholloped me in the head with the fact that there are only three days left! But, a few of you have mentioned that you would like to see some of our decorations, so here it is !!!

Here's our front door. We actually have lights outside, but - to be completely honest - this is the coldest night of the year (so far) and I wasn't interested in huffing it out to the sidewalk to get a picture. So, let's just start with the door!


This is the tree in our Dining Room. Don decorated this one on his own. He really should do this professionally during the holidays. He has a great eye for this type of thing.


This is my little Christmas Village. It's really gotten the shaft since we moved to Texas. In Tennessee, we had it on the mantle in the Living Room. We had all the little accessories (including battery-powered lights on the houses, a pond, etc.) - it was really "Christmas-y". Now, it gets thrown on the entry table as a side thought. In fact, we didn't even unpack it last year. So, it's going on Craigslist on December 26. I hope it finds a good home.


This is our tree in our Family Room. It holds all of our family ornaments and things that we all love, especially ornaments that the kids make themselves! This year, Don added the red poinsetta's and he made the topper! (Notice that I haven't wrapped yet. The only presents under the tree are from Aunt Tempa!)


This is one of my favorite ornaments. It goes in the center every year!


This is one of those "much better in person things", but I love that I am married to someone who can look at the top of our shelf and come back with something that totally fits and only costs 75-cents! The jug and the mirror live there 365 days a year - the jar with ornaments from Wal-Mart appeared via Don during a commerical break from Boston Legal.


This is our mantle in the Family Room. The garland is lit although the picture doesn't show that very well. It looks gorgeous when the candles are lit, but again - I'm doing this quickly :)


This is the best part - the lights on the playset. The kids LOVE it. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but there are lights inside the "fort" so that the kids can go in at night and play.

* The kids have a Christmas Tree in their Gameroom. I'll take a picture tonight and post it. They both fell asleep on the couch tonight watching ABC Family channel's "12 Days of Christmas". We left them on the couch to sleep. I didn't want to risk waking them up with the flash.

So, now that you've checked out our house, head on over to BooMama's Tour of Homes. It's so fun to see what everyone has posted! Get ready ... it's addictive :)

Polar Express Day

This made my heart smile!

Today was pajama day in Kindergarten. The kids were able to bring pillows, blankets, and a stuffed animal. They were going to eat gingerbread cookies, drink hot chocolate and watch The Polar Express.

I wish I was in Kindergarten ... what a perfect day :)

(Thanks to my friend Brenda, the room mom, for sending me this great picture!)

Hysterical

I had to blog about this picture today. To me, it's the funniest of our whole trip. We stood in a short line to pull on the sword. It's important to note that everyone in front of us was a child. I'm sure that these kids saw this giant of a man and thought "surely he'll be able to get the sword out of the stone".

... on the other hand, perhaps I should have taken the picture from the other direction. They might have been thinking "Look how hard he's pulling on that sword. Should we tell him that it's not real?"